Questions grow in limo fire's aftermath

Survivors, relatives say driver was slow in reacting to crisis

Updated 1:21 am, Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Video: CHP: Limo That Caught Fire Had Extra Passenger

Investigators with the California Highway Patrol trying to determine why the back of a stretch limousine burst into flames on a San Francisco Bay bridge, trapping and killing five women inside, say the vehicle was carrying too many passengers. (May 6)

Media: San Francisco Chronicle

The circle of mourning for five nurses killed in a limousine fire on the San Mateo Bridge reached Alameda on Tuesday, as the final victim's name spread through a neighborhood that knew her as "a working mom who did everything."

Meanwhile, criticism of the limo driver's actions during the blaze mounted among the survivors and relatives of those who perished. Several said the driver, 46-year-old Orville Brown of San Jose, was slow to react to the crisis and did little to help the women as they tried to escape the flames.

Brown has said he did what he could and feels terrible about the fire.

While some pointed fingers, others shed tears Tuesday as the San Mateo County coroner's office finally released the names of all five who died in the blaze.

The woman whose name had not been made public was Felomina Geronga. She lived with her husband and two children on Walnut Street in Alameda - and with her ever-ready laugh silenced, the neighborhood is a lesser place, said longtime friend Elaine Rodriguez.

"This is a tough thing," said Rodriguez, who lives next door to the Gerongas. "The whole family is just wonderful."

Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle

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Elaine Rodriguez of Alameda is a next-door neighbor and friend of limousine fire victim Felomina Geronga, a wife and mother of two. "The whole family is just wonderful," Rodriguez said.

Elaine Rodriguez of Alameda is a next-door neighbor and friend of limousine fire victim Felomina Geronga, a wife and mother of two. "The whole family is just wonderful," Rodriguez said.

Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle

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Michelle Estrera, (l-r) Jenni Balon, Neriza Fojas, and Anna Alcantara all perished in the San Mateo Bridge limousine fire on May 4, 2013. The four worked at Fruitvale Health Center in Oakland, Calif.

Michelle Estrera, (l-r) Jenni Balon, Neriza Fojas, and Anna Alcantara all perished in the San Mateo Bridge limousine fire on May 4, 2013. The four worked at Fruitvale Health Center in Oakland, Calif.

Photo: Courtesy The Balon Family

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Randy Tibayan, here with son Raedyn, is a cousin of a limousine fire survivor. "We're definitely upset with the driver and trying to figure out why he didn't do anything about it," he said.

Randy Tibayan, here with son Raedyn, is a cousin of a limousine fire survivor. "We're definitely upset with the driver and trying to figure out why he didn't do anything about it," he said.

Photo: Michael Short, Special To The Chronicle

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A limousine burns on the San Mateo Bridge May 4, 2013 in Hayward, Calif. The fire of indeterminate cause killed 5 of the passengers.

A limousine burns on the San Mateo Bridge May 4, 2013 in Hayward, Calif. The fire of indeterminate cause killed 5 of the passengers.

Photo: Via Twitter User @debbz_84

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San Mateo County firefighters and California Highway Patrol personnel investigate the scene of a limousine fire on the westbound side of the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge in Foster City, Calif., on Saturday, May 4, 2013. Five people died when they were trapped in the limo that caught fire as they were traveling, and four others and the driver were able to escape, according to the Oakland Tribune-Bay Area News Group. (AP Photo/Oakland Tribune-Bay Area News Group, Jane Tyska)

San Mateo County firefighters and California Highway Patrol personnel investigate the scene of a limousine fire on the westbound side of the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge in Foster City, Calif., on Saturday, May 4,

John Balon kisses his son, Jayden 22 mos., as he speaks to the media in his Dublin, Calif., home on Monday, May 6, 2013, about his wife Jenny Balon and her death in a limousine fire on Saturday.

John Balon kisses his son, Jayden 22 mos., as he speaks to the media in his Dublin, Calif., home on Monday, May 6, 2013, about his wife Jenny Balon and her death in a limousine fire on Saturday.

Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle

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Registered nurse Angela Guzman talks about her friend and co-worker Mary Grace Guardiano, one of the survivors of Saturday's limo fire that killed 5 passengers on the San Mateo Bridge, who is a nurse at Crown Bay Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Alameda, CA, Monday May 6th, 2013.

Registered nurse Angela Guzman talks about her friend and co-worker Mary Grace Guardiano, one of the survivors of Saturday's limo fire that killed 5 passengers on the San Mateo Bridge, who is a nurse at Crown

Reporters and news crews wait for a comment outside the apartment of limo fire survivor Mary Grace Guardiano in Alameda, CA who was released from the hospital Monday May 6th, 2013.

Reporters and news crews wait for a comment outside the apartment of limo fire survivor Mary Grace Guardiano in Alameda, CA who was released from the hospital Monday May 6th, 2013.

Photo: Michael Short, Special To The Chronicle

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CHP Redwood City Commander Mike Maskarich fields questions from the gathered media at the CHP Redwood City Area offices. The California Highway Patrol, Foster City Fire Department and the San Mateo County Coroners Office held a press conference regarding the limo fire that claimed the lives of 5 passengers on the San Mateo Bridge, at the CHP Redwood City Area office in Redwood City, CA, Monday May 6th, 2013.

CHP Redwood City Commander Mike Maskarich fields questions from the gathered media at the CHP Redwood City Area offices. The California Highway Patrol, Foster City Fire Department and the San Mateo County

Besides Geronga, 43, the dead were Jennifer Balon, 39, of Dublin; Anna Alcantara, 46, of San Lorenzo; Michelle Estrera, 35, of Fresno; and Neriza Fojas, 31, who worked as a nurse in Fresno. The coroner listed her city of residence as Monterey.

Four other women were injured but survived.

Close-knit group

The women were taking their limo ride to Foster City on Saturday night to a bridal party for Fojas, who had recently married. They were a close-knit set of friends who were of Filipina heritage and had met one another through nursing jobs.

The loss of so many, all at once, has agonized their extended network of friends and relatives.

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Geronga went by the nickname of Fyla and was a senior clinical lab scientist at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Oakland, friends and hospital officials said.

She had lived in Alameda for about eight years. Acquaintances said she was a cheery person, that she and her husband and children - a daughter in the seventh grade and a son in fourth grade - were the most upbeat folks on the block.

"You just constantly hear them laughing over there," Rodriguez said. "They always cheer me up - you hear the kids giggling and the parents talking and laughing all the time.

"My reaction when I heard about this: tears," she said.

Husband a nurse

Friends said Geronga's husband had worked as a doctor in the Philippines and now works locally as a nurse. His wife was "a working mom who did everything," said one neighbor who asked not to be named, rising at 5:30 every morning to make breakfast and lunch for the family.

Hers is not the only family left without a wife and mother.

Jennifer Balon's husband, John Balon, 38, worked as a physical therapist with his wife, a nurse, at the Fruitvale Health Center in Oakland. Now he has to carry on as a single father of a 10-year-old daughter and a 1-year-old son.

He said he intends to show his son, Jayden, pictures of his mother frequently as he grows up so the boy can remember what she was like. As for himself, he said he will never need any prompts.

"I will always remember my wife, every day," Balon said. "She's the best thing to ever happen to me. She is one unique person. No one can replace her at all."

Survivors improve

Two of the survivors are still hospitalized at Valley Medical Center in San Jose - 34-year-old Jasmin "Jazz" De Guia of San Lorenzo and Amalia Loyola, 48, of San Leandro. Their condition was upgraded Tuesday to fair.

The driver, Brown, was unhurt - and on Tuesday, De Guia's relatives accused him of not doing enough when the flames broke out to save his passengers.

"We're definitely upset with the driver and trying to figure out why he didn't do anything about it," said De Guia's cousin, 30-year-old Randy Tibayan of Hayward. "He had the controls, but he didn't bother to break any windows or open anything."

De Guia told relatives that Brown at first misunderstood her cries that the limo was filling with smoke as a request to light a cigarette - matching Brown's account in an interview with The Chronicle on Sunday. When it became obvious there was a problem, Brown took too long to react, Tibayan said.

"The smoke seemed to be coming out of the trunk and into the compartment," he said. "The driver said, 'Don't worry, I'll take care of it.' But by the time he pulled over, people in the back were already getting burned."

'On his phone'

He said that as panic escalated inside the limo, the driver "was outside and on his phone, calling for help, maybe."

One witness, who said he passed the limousine on the bridge just before the flames broke out, told The Chronicle he was surprised to see the driver standing outside the stopped limo.

"It was a little surreal - this stalled limo, and the driver just standing outside alongside it," said the witness, Russell Jeong, a senior director at Diamond Foods Inc. in San Francisco. "We were surprised the limo had no emergency lights on."

Tibayan said Loyola, the other survivor hospitalized at Valley Medical Center, had pulled De Guia out of the limo through the driver's 3-foot-by-1 1/2-foot partition window - at one point having to yank hard when De Guia's hip got stuck.

"My cousin was one of the last ones to get out," he said. "The women were pulling each other out."

Arrellano also told KGO-TV that Brown "didn't do anything" to help the women flee the flames. "He just get out from the car," she said.

Happened fast

Brown told The Chronicle on Sunday that the fire happened too quickly to react in time to save the victims. He said he helped the survivors escape through the partition, and was devastated by the tragedy.

"I just wish that I could have done more," Brown said. "It's something you never imagine will happen."

He has not returned calls seeking comment since the survivors and their relatives went public with their criticism.

Investigators with the California Highway Patrol have not said whether Brown's conduct is a factor in their probe of the tragedy. They said it will probably be two to three weeks before they reach any conclusions about what caused the fire.